This is a great video to help your preschooler with counting. I find that boys really love animals. When given a choice to jump, or leap over blocks or animals, the boys in my class always choose the animals. So your boys will really get a kick out of counting all of the animals.

This would be a great art project also. Don’t just jump in and say “We’re going to make the ark out of a milk cartoon! Ask your child “What should we use for the ark?” Let it be their idea and creation. The more children are invested in the process the more cooperation you will get from them. They will even take your suggestions(sometimes) because they feel that they are in control.

In our area we have stores that sell items for a dollar or under or just a little bit over. You can get the animals from here or use paper ones. Either way it’s a great project for fine motor skills for your child.

For the paper ones help your child with cutting them out. Make sure to remind them to keep their thumb up, this will help them a lot with trying to cut. If they are under 3 it will present a challenge so be patient. Holding the animals between their fingers will help to develop their pincer muscles in their index finger and thumb. This also applies if they are holding actual animals that they are going to march on the ark.

Doing this all while singing provides a multi-sensory learning experience that provides not only cognitive development in the way of learning numbers and counting,but also physical development as well. This is a great activity for all types of learners, auditory, kinesthetic and visual. You can try this with one child or a group.

Try it and come back and share your experiences with us. I’d love to hear from you. If you feel that this post is useful please feel free to share it with your family, friends, or colleagues. Please also feel free to leave a comment or question.

It is never to early to start teaching children to love and care for their bodies. When our children are little we make sure they brush their teeth and wash behind their ears and clean their bodies. We try to make it fun by putting toys in the tub and making lots of bubbles for them to play with while they are there. We want it to be a fun experience and one that they will want to do over and over again.

This is a great time to start having children acknowledging and appreciating their bodies. By becoming aware of and appreciating their bodies, they will be more likely to put nourishing foods and beverages into and take care of it in other ways. We can explain things to them like getting proper rest helps the body to grow and allows it to do all of the things that it needs to do to keep them healthy and have fun.

We can also explain to them that moving and exercising the body is very important for it also. So we need to encourage them to run, play, ride their bikes, swing and all the other physical activities that they enjoy and involves moving their bodies. In the beginning they may not understand depending on their age but we can instruct them and start them on the path to creating healthy habits early.

A FUN ACTIVITY THAT FOSTERS BODY LOVE

Here is a fun activity that you can do with your child either when they are lathering or putting lotion on their bodies or both. As they are lathering or putting the lotion on each part of their body they can say: Hello arms, I love you arms. Thank you for working wonderfully for me. Hello elbows. I love you elbows. Thank you for working wonderfully for me. Hello face, I love you face. Thank you for being beautiful for me. Keep this up going over their body parts, tummy or stomach, shoulders, knees, feet etc. At the end they can say Thank you body. I love you body. It’s wonderful to be me ! You can make it into a song or change the words to be rhyming words.

The point of this exercise is for them to love and appreciate their bodies and to become aware of the importance of taking care of it and loving it. You want them to become aware and conscious of it as early as possible so that they can understand the importance of taking care of it. By becoming conscious and aware as well as appreciative of their bodies, they are building a great habit for a healthy living for now and into the future.

What activities do you do with your child to help foster a healthy love and appreciation for their body. Please share that here with us we’d love to hear from you. You can also leave a comment or question below. A free ebook on healthy eating and activities for children can be found at http;//www.healthykidsweightloss.com

What a wonderful feeling it is to have amazing and wonderful clients that are generous and kind. People under estimate the power of the written word, and the effect it can have on a person. When I received this tuition payment it was an extraordinary event. You probably can’t tell from the picture but it was written in a beautiful silver metalic or as one of my students told me today, iridescent ink. That’s another story, when I walked into her school she told me she had an iridescent band aid. I was like what say that word again and she pronounced it perfectly. I was impressed.

Back to the extraordinary event, this parent Jessica Madden must have received an award for art and penmanship. She writes beautifully. But there were not just words on the paper. You could tell that the words were written with excitement and joy. I had such a happiness in reading the writing. I could feel the feelings coming off the card and the envelope and that was an amazing feeling to me.

This parent is such a sweetie pie and is always so appreciative. I think that one of the reasons I like her so much is that she reminds me so much of myself. And let me tell you it is a great thing to feel like you are doing business with yourself. It is great when your clients really get you and what you are trying to accomplish and are not afraid to express that to you. I am so blessed and fortunate to have a client like her. I am also thankful and grateful that she is not the only one. I am not kidding when I say Pitter Patter Feet parents are the best. I really mean it from the bottom of my heart. Now imagine this being written in lots of loops and fancy writing with nice iridescent and metallic ink with lots of hearts around it and smiley faces.

Thank you so much Jessica Madden you made my day! It is such a pleasure teaching your cutie pie who makes me laugh every time I teach her and has such fun in my class. Thank you for bringing back the lost art of handwritten “Thank You” notes. Thank you to all of my parents, teachers and directors you are all blessings and I appreciate you all more than words can express! Have a great day! :-

The Pitter Patter Feet Method is concerned with optimizing children’s fullest potential. How that is accomplished varies from day to day, no two days are alike. It is this particular component of working in the Early Childhood Education field that I love the most. There is no way you could ever get bored. Each day and moment actually provides you with a new adventure, something new to learn and ways to grow.

In one of my schools last week they were short staffed. One of the teachers had a death in the family so there were twice as many children to teach than normal. What this meant is normally there are two classes one with 9 children and the second with 12 children. Each class is divided according to age. To teach the two groups separately is divine, a dream. Every one has enough space to move freely and express themselves and the potential for accidents is greatly reduced. Combining the two classes in the same space is like cutting the amount of space in half. Read more »

Hello and welcome to the Pitter Patter Feet Blog. I am so happy you stopped by. My name is D’TaRelle F. Tullis, Founder and Owner of Pitter Patter Feet. Since its inception in 1993, The Pitter Patter Feet Method has been successfully used by over 20,000 children ranging in ages from infancy to 12 years old. It is a system comprised of music, movement, dance, physical development techniques and brain integration. The system is designed for all types of learning styles and ways children love to learn and is for both girls and boys. My specialty is early learners between the ages of 2 1/2 to 6. The goal of the program is to develop smart, happy and fit children by focusing on four key areas in child development, cognitive development, social and emotional development and physical development.

RESULTS

Children develop self confidence and esteem, a love of learning and exploration, have better self control over their bodies and emotions, become more self reliant and learn to work well with others. The most exciting result is children learn to use their brains and bodies more efficiently and effectively and express themselves with confidence and freedom. Most importantly, because all of the activities and processes are age appropriate and designed for young learners they are packed with fun, excitement and lots of movement and adventure.

Teachers, parents and directors also benefit greatly from the system. Because the Pitter Patter Feet Method was designed by an Early Childhood Consultant/ Trainer and Owner of a mobile dance studio, both the body and mind are engaged. The classes are held at the children’s school so parents do not have to worry about getting their children to an additional location. Teachers and directors also love it because children remain in a familiar environment and receive reinforcement and different ways of experiencing their Early Childhood Curriculums. Movements from the class come from sports, the martial arts and yoga in addition to dance, creative movement and basic physical development movements designed to help build balance, hand eye coordination, spatial awareness and more. Props such as bubbles, balls and material are also used to enhance the learning experience and provide additional sensory information and experiences.

As mentioned earlier, all children are free to express themselves and have a great time. Some are silly( check out my friend in the front making a face and my smaller friend behind him with his shirt over his knees :-)), and some are just eagerly awaiting for the start of class. They are all honored and accepted for who they are and are all encouraged to do their very best at whatever level they are currently at.

RESOURCES

This blog is designed to provide resources and information for parents, teachers, directors, principal and educators and everyone who works with and care for children and are interested in optimizing children’s potential as well their own. You matter and your comments and questions are always greatly appreciated. I encourage you to share your experiences and expertise. Please feel free to get your questions answered and add your comments. Let me know how I can best serve you and I will do my best! Please refer to the testimonial page on our blog to find out about others experience of the program. Have a great day!